Release that Witch

Snaketooth never expected that much more unbelievable things were yet to come—the speaker’s next announcement rendered him motionless.

”In five days, which is the second week of the first month of spring, the City Hall will distribute rations at the square! Everyone can come here to collect two bowls of steaming hot oatmeal, one for lunch and one for dinner. Citizens, let’s all thank the prince for his generosity!”

At this, the crowd began to stir.

”My god, Gayle was right—this was really in the notice!”

”Yes, I came just to confirm that.”

”Do my ears deceive me? Free oatmeal every day?”

”Are you coming, too? Don’t you have plenty of oats and dried meat at home?”

”It’s still two free meals! My lord didn’t forbid me from coming. Didn’t you hear that he said ’everyone’?”

”My Lord!” Someone suddenly shouted. ”Is the oatmeal really free? How long will this continue?”

This was the question on everyone’s mind. The crowd quieted and turned to look at the attendant in unison.

The attendant waited for the good news to sink in, and then announced calmly, ”That’s right! The oatmeal really is free, and the distribution will continue until the end of the Months of Demons! Tell all your neighbors and friends about this news, because His Highness will always stay true to his promises!”

Hundreds of people instantly became excited, but Snaketooth still couldn’t believe his ears.

”Free food? What does this mean? It means that they can temporarily avoid being threatened by Kanas and starving in the snow—No, not just them, but all Rats will be able to easily obtain food. Now, they’ll be even more difficult to control!

Kanas won’t just sit by and let this happen, so what will he do? Send someone to disperse the crowd, disrupt the distribution... or bribe City Hall officials to dump all the oatmeal into the Redwater River?”

However, Snaketooth also noticed that the announcer kept mentioning ”His Highness”, which meant it was the legendary Prince Roland that gave orders to distribute rations, not the Duke or the Five Families. ”Will he let these Rats roam shamelessly, or will he really be different from the other noblemen?”

He didn’t trust any of the noble, and the day Paper was taken away was still fresh in his mind.

However, a small voice in his head kept asking him, ”What if it was true, what if... it was true?”

Luckily, his doubts didn’t last long because the Elk attendant on the stage began to read another notice—he used to think that these orders were simply the nobles’ tricks to mess with the citizens and had nothing to do with orphans like him, but even more surprising than the last two notices was the third one, which directly applied to the Rats.

”Citizens, listen up! There are brighter days to come!” The announcer shouted something to calm the rowdy crowd and then said, ”In five days, or when the oatmeal distribution starts, His Highness will begin cracking down on crime in Longsong Stronghold, including Black Street organizations, theft, and any behavior that threatens the safety and belongings of the citizens! When the time came, please don’t hang around Black Street or visit pubs, casinos, and other unsafe areas to prevent unnecessary harm!”

”Order in Stronghold needs to be maintained by all citizens, and the City Hall is currently recruiting public safety officers and police personnel. Next, I’ll explain the requirements!”

Snaketooth didn’t feel like listening anymore, so he made his way out of the crowd and ran next to the bonfire. ”Hurry, let’s go back!”

”Are you done listening?” Sunflower rubbed her hands and asked reluctantly, ”You should get warm before you leave.”

”No, we have to go now!” he said urgently.

”What happened?” Joe could sense that something was off.

”I’ll explain to you on the road.” Snaketooth stomped his foot. ”We need to go back right now, otherwise Kanas will hear about this through someone else and we’ll be done for!”

...

The gathering spot for Rats in the Western Zone was a two-story house buried deep in the Endless Lane.

Kanas was an intimidating one-eyed man, and his temper and methods were just as cruel as his appearance. Snaketooth personally saw him nail someone who was messed up to a wall and then whipped him to death. At the same time, he controlled the food supply of several Rat organizations in the area, so no one dared to disrespect him.

Snaketooth felt the same way, so he knelt carefully in front of Kanas and told him about the notices.

”Is the lord of the city targeting us?” Kanas asked with a frown, ”What kind of nonsense is that?”

”...It’s not the lord of the city,” reminded Snaketooth carefully. ”The announcer was talking about the prince.”

”What the hell do you know?” Kanas spat. ”No noble, no matter how important, can do anything in someone else’s territory. This’s Longsong Stronghold, not Border Town or King’s City, and the lords of the Honeysuckles or Elks are here, so there’s nothing he can do. So what if he’s the so-called protector of the Western Region? Just look at who’s sitting in the castle. The king still rules Graycastle in name, but who cares about his orders?”

”You’re right,” a girl next to Kanas said softly. ”Not to mention, even if power changes hands, it has nothing to do with us. Nobles are Nobles, and Rats are Rats. Just because the two groups live in the same city, it doesn’t mean that they are anything alike.”

”Rats are Rats? That’s what I love to hear.” Kanas grabbed the girl’s behind. ”However, the second notice is quite strange. Usually, if the noble want to improve their reputation by distributing food, they would let us know beforehand. Also, they usually restrict the amount they distribute, but how come it sounds like they’re trying to feed the entire city this time?”

No one could answer his question, but Snaketooth knew that everyone was thinking about those two free bowls of oatmeal.

”Maybe... the noblemen want to get on good terms with Sir Bloodyhand?” The girl chuckled.

”Who knows.” Kanas shrugged. ”I’ll go ask the boss later. Only he knows and understands these issues related to the noble.”

The so-called ”Bloodyhand” was the king of the Western Zone Rats, and it was rumored that he was very close with the lower-level nobles. In a sense, he was no longer a regular Rat, but a title-less ”underground nobleman”—in fact, all Rat kings had similar social connections.

At this thought, Snaketooth breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Kanas’ lover was right. ”Both the noble and Rats have existed for hundreds of years, so no matter how the upper level changes, the underground world will always maintain its own rules... His Highness is also a member of the noble, so what can he do?”

”By the way, I know exactly what you all are thinking right now.” Kanas chuckled. ”You want to try the City Hall’s oatmeal? On the day of distribution, everyone must remain in this room, and no one can leave. Understood? If anyone goes behind my back to eat it, I’ll make sure he never eats another thing in his life!”